Cradle of Coaches

Throughout the sports world, Miami has the unique reputation as the "Cradle of Coaches." Legendary football coaches such as Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, Weeb Ewbank, Paul Brown and Sid Gillman all had roots at Miami, and the impact they left on the college football landscape can still be felt today.

At last count, more than 100 Miami graduates were active in coaching or administrative work in the professional and collegiate levels. More than 30 of the men and women in the collegiate ranks are presently head coaches. Over the past six decades, 20 collegiate and professional coaches with Miami roots have stood atop their respective professions as National Coaches of the Year.

Bob Kurz, a 1958 graduate of Miami and former Miami Sports Information Director, helped put the legacy in context with his book Miami of Ohio: The Cradle of Coaches, which lays out the program's proud coaching tradition from its humble beginnings through the 2002 season, when it was last revised. His inspiration for the biography came in 1959, when Miami graduates Paul Dietzel and Parseghian were coaching the No. 1 and No. 2 college programs in the land and Brown, Gillman and Ewbank were revolutionizing the professional game.

Prior to the 2004 season, Kurz and his wife, Marian, provided a gift to the University to construct a Cradle of Coaches Plaza beyond the South endzone of Yager Stadium. The beautifully architected plaza provides a grand entrance to the stadium and have been adorned with life-sized statues of some of the program's greatest coaching legends.

Miami has been the training ground for 21 National Coaches of the Year recipients at the professional and collegiate levels.

Football

Earl (Red) Blaik

Army 1946

Paul Brown

Cleveland Browns 1951, 1969

Woody Hayes

Ohio State 1957

Paul Dietzel

LSU 1958

Ara Parseghian

Notre Dame 1964

John Pont

Indiana 1967

Jim Root *

New Hampshire 1967

Weeb Ewbank

New York Jets 1968

Bo Schembechler

Michigan 1969

Bill Narduzzi *

Youngstown State 1978

Rick Carter *

Dayton 1980

John Harbaugh

Baltimore Ravens, 2013

* College Division

Basketball

Randy Ayers

Ohio State 1991

Ron Niekamp

Findlay 2009

Women's Basketball

Sue Ramsey

Ashland 2012

Baseball

Walter Alston

L.A./Brooklyn Dodgers 1955, 1959, 1963

Tracy Smith

Indiana 2013

Ice Hockey

George Gwozdecky

Miami 1993

Enrico Blasi

Miami 2006

Synchronized Skating

Vicki Korn

Miami 1999, 2007

Indoor Track and Field

Mel Brodt

Bowling Green 1972

Cradle of Coaches Association

The Cradle of Coaches Association was established in 1971 to acknowledge the role Miamians have played in establishing Miami University as the Cradle of Coaches. While all Miami Alumni who go on to coach or those who have coached at Miami are considered a part of the Cradle of Coaches, the Cradle of Coaches Association began inducting individuals into the Association in 1992 to further recognize their accomplishments. In 1999 and 2000, Miami's Hall of Fame Committee further developed criteria for induction into the Cradle of Coaches to be more inclusive of all sports. The list of inductees thus far: